Principles and Forms of Sociocultural Organization

Dmitri M. Bondarenko is an anthropologist, historian, and Africanist. Dmitri is Deputy Director for Research and Chair of the Center of Anthropology of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the International Center of Anthropology, HSE University, and Professor in Ethnology, Russian State University for the Humanities. His research interests include anthropological, social, and historical theory, political anthropology, cultures and history of Africa, sociocultural transformations and intercultural interaction. Bondarenko has conducted fieldwork in six African countries and among people of African origin in Russia and the USA. Dmitri has authored over 550 publications, including eight monographs published in Russia, Germany, the USA, and the UK.Gleb V. Aleksandrov, PhD, is Deputy Director of the International Centre of Anthropology, National Research University Higher School of Economics.

• Notes on Editors and Contributors; Chapter 1-Principles and Forms of Organization of Societies as Systems of Institutions (The “Conceptual Frame” of This Book); Part I - Ancient and Medieval Societies; Chapter 2 - Ancient Greek Polis: From Homoarchy to Heterarchy and Back Again; Chapter 3 - Royal Power and Social Order among Early Nomads: Homoarchy and Heterarchy in the Western Steppe Zone of Eurasia; Chapter 4 Episcopal Election in the Frankish Kingdom and Models of Social Organization in the Frankish Society: Ideal and Practice; Chapter 5 - The Rus’ People of the Ninth to Eleventh Centuries: Ethnicity and Social Differentiation; Chapter 6- “If Our Brother Had Outlived Our Father by Even a Single Day […]” The Conflict of Two Systems of Succession to the Throne in Castile in the Late Thirteenth Century and the Principles of Social Organization; Part II Modern Societies; Chapter 7 - King Philip’s War (1675–1676): Interactions and Transformations of Typologically Different Societies in the Colonial Context; Chapter 8 - Liberty without Equality and Fraternity; Chapter 9 - A Homoarchical Institution within a Heterarchical System: Church and State in Contemporary Greece; Anna K. Aleksandrova Chapter 10 - The Role of Ethno-social Stratification and Ethnic Mobility in the Context of the Conflict in Sudan’s Darfur Region; Chapter 11 “Let there Be No Hard Feelings between Us!”: Heterarchical Mechanisms in the Transformation of Equality into Hierarchy and Back in the North of European Russia; Chapter 12 - The Cultural Dimension of Collectivism–Individualism and Empathy in Different Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Chapter 13 - Conclusion; Index

“The editors have compiled an extraordinary set of geographically wide-ranging case studies from different time periods involving various levels of political organization. The insightful analysis of social institutions put forth in this publication makes it a must-read for social scientists interested in understanding the nature of sociopolitical organization.” — Richard J. Chacon, Professor of Anthropology, Winthrop University, SC, USA.“Bondarenko and Aleksandrov address an important issue in anthropology; evolutionary concepts need to be tested in institutional contexts. Applying heterarchy and homoarchy to historical, archaeological, and modern contexts, they outline shortcomings and corrections to evolutionary applications. This approach is an important model for future research.” — David B. Small, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Lehigh University, PA, USA.